First thoughts
OF TWO THINGS we’re confident based off of LSU’s 46-41 win against Alabama in the 53rd matchup of the AP’s No. 1 and 2 teams. LSU will overtake Ohio State atop the new playoff rankings when they come out Tuesday. And Joe Burrow, the Tigers QB, just won the Heisman Trophy. Both are based on “the power of four.” For LSU, Saturday’s win was its fourth vs. a top-10 team (Texas, Florida, Auburn, Alabama). Ohio State has yet to even play — let alone beat — its first. As for Burrow, his Heisman moment is four-fold. In those four top-10 wins, he has completed a ridiculously good 80 percent of his passes (115 for 144) for 1,478 yards and 11 TDs. Again, just vs. top-10 teams.
THE UNDERLYING question out of the Alabama loss: How hard will Alabama fall? No. 3 in the initial playoff rankings, there are those who saw a loss as fatal to the Crimson Tide reaching the semifinals for a sixth consecutive year. ESPN/ ABC analyst Kirk Herbstreit said last week that he believed LSU could have lost Saturday and still made it, but “I don’t think you can say the same thing [about Alabama]. I don’t think they have that schedule, that resume.” Certainly not one that would trump a one-loss Big 12 or Pac-12 champ, against whom it would likely be up against. As Ralph Russo of The Associated Press wrote, “just being ’Bama might not be enough this time.”
HAS THE BIG TEN ever called off a game for humanitarian reasons? Maybe it should before Ohio State visits Rutgers Saturday. Through a 73-14 rout of Maryland — a game in which it pulled its starters just after halftime — the Buckeyes have outscored Big Ten opponents 29651. Conversely, the Scarlet Knights have scored just 24 points in league play and might be down to their fourth-string QB. In what church do they have a prayer? Sports business writer Darren Rovell expects a line north of 60 points. That would approach the record 701⁄2 by which Florida State was favored vs. Savannah State in 2012.